2021 saw a massive shift as a number of big films saw simultaneous releases in theaters and on streaming as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic following an abysmal 2020 box office decimated by COVID production delays and theater shutdowns. Some of 2021's biggest movies were available via streaming the same day they hit theaters, giving audiences the choice to stay home instead of purchasing a ticket and seeing a movie on the big screen.

Warner Bros. made a big splash in the news in December 2020 with the announcement that every single WB theatrical release would be available day-and-date on HBO Max, but other studios also made similar decisions (albeit to a lesser degree) such as Disney releasing some movies early on Disney+ or Universal making some of their movies available on Peacock. The decision initially saw a lot of pushback, particularly with the actors and filmmakers behind the impacted movies, but new compensation deals were arranged, and while Disney had the highest-profile blowback in the form of a lawsuit by Scarlett Johansson, her case was quickly settled before going to court.

Related: WB's 2021 HBO Max Release Strategy is The Smartest Option

While the arrangement was much more convenient for audiences, there were massive concerns about the impact on the box office, and the National Association of Theatre Owners even issued an open letter lambasting Disney for the decision to make Black Widow available on Disney+ Premiere Access, alleging it cost theaters tens of millions of dollars opening weekend. Despite the political fallout of the streaming decision, the world still isn't fully recovered from the pandemic and not all movie lovers are ready to return to theaters just yet, so how much of an impact did streaming releases actually have on the box office?

Theatrical Exclusive Movies Performed Way Better at the Box Office

bond, no time to die

Simply looking at the top ten domestic earners for 2021, it's clear movies with a theatrical exclusive release plan were the biggest box office hits. Eight of the top ten movies were theatrical exclusives, while the only day-and-date movies to crack the top ten were Black Widow and Duneranked 3rd and 10th, respectively. When it comes to the global box office, the situation is the same, although Black Widow falls out of the top ten and Godzilla vs. Kong creeps up to 5th (with Dune still sitting at 10th).

Of all the top earners, the biggest 2nd-weekend drops at the box office also came from day-and-date streaming releases. Of the top ten highest 2nd-weekend drops, seven of them were streaming releases, with Dune dropping 62.42 percent, In the Heights dropping 63.49 percent, Black Widow dropping 67.84 percent, Space Jam: A New Legacy dropping 69.15 percent, Halloween Kills dropping 70.75 percent, The Suicide Squad dropping 71.49 percent, and Mortal Kombat dropping 73.28 percent.

Using Samba TV streaming metrics for the sake of parity across platforms, the top five most popular day-and-date streaming movies averaged just over $30 million opening weekends domestically, while the top five domestic openings for 2021 so far (including Black Widow) averaged just over $77 million. The streaming releases also saw a much lower per-theater average, with the top five day-and-date streaming movies seeing $20,727 per-theater opening weekend domestically compared to $46,129 for the top five in that category (again including Black Widow).

Streaming Wasn't the Only Factor Impacting Box Office

Godzilla vs kong who wins

While there's a clear correlation between streaming releases and lower box office performance, it's also important to point out the data is severely skewed by release dates as well, since many movies that opted for a theatrical exclusive waited to hit theaters until later in the year when the box office was stronger, such as No Time to Die, which has gone on to be one of the top earners at the global box office. All of the top five domestic openers were released in June or later, and four of the top five were released in September and October, so it's not as if theatrical exclusives were earning big alongside the struggling day-and-date movies at the start of the year. In fact, A Quiet Place Part II was the only top-earning 2021 movie released before June, and it still only released in May.

Related: Streaming Can't Be Blamed For Post-Pandemic Box Office Performance

Black Widow is the streaming release with the biggest opening weekend at $80 million in July, and the two next biggest opening weekends for day-and-date releases happened in October, with Halloween Kills opening at $49 million and Dune opening at $41 million. The biggest streaming hits also happened earlier in the year, with Samba TV saying Godzilla vs. Kong drew 3.6 million people in its opening weekend in March and Mortal Kombat drawing 3.8 million people for its opening weekend in April. The Samba TV opening average for day-and-date streaming releases from January to June was 1.713 million, while the movies released since July have averaged lower at 1.523.

This trend could simply be attributed to movies like Mortal Kombat and Godzilla vs. Kong being more attractive streaming options, but with Dune's marketing heralding it as a massive theatrical experience, it could also be seen as a sign audiences are feeling safer back in theaters and that they're still willing to pay premium prices for a true big-screen experience, even when streaming is cheaper and more convenient.

Box Office Losses Won't Make Studios Regret Releasing Theatrical Films on Streaming

Dune HBO Max and Money

While there's plenty of factors other than streaming impacting the box office in 2021, the correlation would still be enough to scare any studio exec primarily concerned about box office, but studios aren't likely to regret their streaming decisions, particularly not Warner Bros. The studios primarily concerned about box office all delayed their movies until a smarter release date, which is why the biggest movies all released later in the year. For Warner Bros, box office was never a major concern when it came to their decision to release their movies on HBO Max.

As the newest of the big streaming services, HBO Max had a lot of growing to do to compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney+, and the day-and-date decision was one of the best ways to do that. Based on the numbers, it seems to have at least partially paid off. Despite having far fewer subscribers than Disney+, HBO Max's day-and-date releases dominated any of the theatrical films made available on Disney+. It's important to note Disne+ charged an additional $30 to view their day-and-date releases, whereas WB's were free for HBO Max subscribers, but regardless of the reason, HBO Max saw the vast majority of its releases draw a larger opening weekend audience than Disney+ did for Black Widow, meaning more eyeballs on the service and more word of mouth.

Streaming revenue had already eclipsed theatrical revenue before COVID impacted the industry, and studios keep a much larger percentage of streaming revenue, making it far more lucrative than box office, even on a good year. Studios spend millions (if not hundreds of millions) of dollars on every movie to convince audiences to buy a ticket, yet nearly half of Americans only go to the theater once a year or less. Meanwhile, once someone signs up for HBO Max, they're paying a monthly subscription, which is nearly 50 percent more than average ticket prices. Theater attendance was already declining for 20 years before COVID hit, so the economics of their decision is more than understandable.

Next: Post-Pandemic Box Office And Streaming Change How We Define Movie Success